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Hitachi Debuts its line of 1.5" thick LCD TVs

Hitachi's new line of 35mm thick LCD TVs have made their debut at CES. Dubbed the 1.5, they should be available in early 2008.

Iain McDonald
Iain McDonald is a guest CES blogger who comes to us from Birmingham, England. A self-confessed geek, Iain's life has revolved around technology since he received his first PalmPilot at ten years old. Also a music lover, Iain is a third-year university student studying Sound Engineering, and he's never far from his iPod. And yes, he is an Apple Fanboy.
Iain McDonald
Hitachi's 1.5 LCDs Iain McDonald
There are two schools of thought here at CES; Those who can build the biggest and those who can build the slimmest. Hitachi is in the latter with its achingly thin line of LCD TVs dubbed 1.5. This is of course referring to its waif-like depth of 1.5". Three sizes will be available at launch starting at 32", 37" and topping out at 42". Naturally the 37" and 42" screens are 1080p and have 120Hz technology to reduce motion blur. So how are Hitachi getting them so slim? Well, they are using a combination of proprietary technologies, component miniaturization, a silent cooling system and In Plane Switching technology which all adds up to create one hell of a svelte body that Hitachi are touting as "An ideal compliment to a luxury lifestyle". All sets feature 1 HDMI 1.3 input and 1 RGB D-Sub input as they are designed to be connected to an Audio Video Center that houses the tuner, three more HDMI inputs as well as two component inputs. The Audio Video Center will be sold separately. The sets have been out in Japan since December and will be hitting US shores in early 2008 with no word yet on pricing.